In various applications structures such as equipment must be mounted from a support in proximity to the location where the equipment is utilized. This requirement is especially common with medical equipment that must be supported near where the equipment is utilized for medical treatment of patients.
Clamps with features for mounting equipment are known that are secured to existing supports such as tubular supports as in IV poles (vertical) and bed rails (horizontal). Clamps have also been utilized with planar supports such as table edges.
A typical clamp may comprise a c-clamp shape that grasps a support between a fixed jaw and a moveable jaw. The jaw operator mechanism for moving the moveable jaw into engagement with and securely grasping the support has typically utilized a screw carried in a threaded opening in the clamp body. This screw, of necessity, must be of a length greater than the maximum distance between the fixed and moveable jaws plus the width of the clamp body through which it is threaded. This creates an elongated profile that may interfere with other clamps or structures carried on the support.
Another feature which is desirable in equipment clamps is the ability to rotate attached equipment so that the equipment will be presented to the user in a upright orientation. In the past rotational capability has required substantial further protrusions from the clamp body to accommodate the rotational mechanism which further increases the profile of the clamp and the potential for interference with other clamps or structures on the support.
Various suggestions have been made that changes should be made to clamp designs including the suggestion of incorporating a lock to prevent removal of the clamp from the support on which the clamp is mounted and thereby to prevent removal of the device by unauthorized persons. It has also been suggested that it would be advantageous to reduce the overall width of the clamp by reducing the height of the structures used for rotation of the supported device. However, no structure to accomplish these objectives has been suggested.
The present invention represents a realization of the deficiencies of prior art clamps and the development of mechanisms that minimize the profile and versatility of equipment support clamps.